Frozen
by Risa McDohl
Summary: "Instead of freezing your butt off like some kind of idiot, why not hop in? We could head up to base and get some hot chocolate. Sound good?" Light 1x2 Oneshot


**Title:** Frozen

**Author:** Risa

**Pairing:** Heero/Duo (very light)

**Rated:** K

**Disclaimer:** The moth that just flew out of my wallet should say everything.

**Word Count:** 1190

**Summary:** There was nothing Heero had left to do rather than to wallow out in the cold, or concede.

Heero Yuy wasn't a fan of the snow. Sure, the substance was necessary for renewal, purging the earth's atmosphere of impurities and providing the sleeping spring plants with their first drink. Children loved to play in it. It was cool to the touch and was even nice to look at in pictures and photographs. However, when gray clouds blanketed the rays of the sun and the first flakes began to fall, Heero couldn't help remembering some of the terrible deeds he had committed in this very weather. If only things had gone differently. If only he weren't so careless. When it snowed, he sometimes wondered if he had any business being alive, let alone happy.

He could revel in the peace he helped bring all he wanted. He could do his best to protect Relena and the rest of the world, the Colonies, and his comrades. Like it or not, destiny had a funny way of bringing he and his fellow Gundam pilots back together. Wufei was the first man to be hired as a patrol officer for Preventer, and not long afterward Duo and Hilde were hired as engineers. The Winner family helped fund Preventer, and Quatre made many personal visits, along with his volunteer body guard, Trowa. Heero had been monitoring them, as he monitored everyone, though he decided that his place must be near Relena. In this new world there was no need for destruction, only protection, and he was obligated to adapt.

That was, until he realized there was no place for him by her side anymore. Many men vowed to protect her and promote her ideals. Preventer stationed Milliardo Peacecraft and Noin at Vice Foreign Minister Darlian's mansion alone, and with that Heero decided that his presence was just too much. He was merely stifling her. Relena spared him many smiles and warm looks in passing, but for the most part she had drifted away from him. She learned to stand on her own, whereas he had once again lost his purpose. He spent his entire life assuming that he would eventually die in battle. He hadn't gotten around to thinking about a future yet.

Then one day Duo called him up, rambling about how he'd become Preventer's chief engineer, and how all the guys stopped by every so often. All, except for Heero, who confined himself to the earth in order to provide Relena with protection that she didn't need. Heero didn't say much in return. He had nothing to say. His life was just as cold and empty as ever, just like the snow which had started to fall. Heero cut their chat off by snapping shut his laptop and took off. Judging by the back walls comprised of sediment and the crystal clear frequency Duo was somewhere on the earth, probably there to scoop Heero up and drag him to Preventer, too. It did seem to be the ideal workplace for the likes of him, though Heero wasn't quite ready to leave the Earth yet. He would leave this place, yes, but he would go somewhere of his choosing. Perhaps enroll into another high school before it was too late.

Well, not if Relena had anything to say about it. Of all the times for her to be blocking the doorway this was not one of the good ones. He glared at her, at eye level no less, and her gaze told him to stay put, which he did.

"Duo Maxwell contacted you, did he not?" said Relena, and when she got no answer she just smiled and bowed her head sadly. "Heero."

"I will remain where I am. This is the life that I've chosen," said Heero without waver.

"More like it's the only life that you know," said Relena, taking a few steps toward Heero. "How long will this dance between us last, Heero? Would my death relieve you of your burden?"

"No." Heero was struck by the intensity in her eyes, the shear magnitude of her words. Not three years ago was one of his objectives to take her life. Now it was just the opposite. With every fiber of his being he needed her to live. Her life was his purpose, his mission, and yet with so many others who made that same pledge that purpose became more and more empty. Even now as she stood before him she was more powerful than he could ever hope to be.

All of this time she wasn't the one who needed protecting. It was him. He had to protect himself from his past through her, by using her to give his life meaning. She allowed it, mostly because she had used him in a similar way once, though she grew weary of the dance. Now Heero was starting to realize that he, too, had grown weary. He was very tired.

So he slumped forward, and Relena caught him in her arms. She held him for a few moments, telling him where he was needed now, giving him permission to let go.

At twenty-two hundred hours he vacated the Darlian's mansion with nothing more than the clothes on his back.

By then the ground was quilted in snow, and he could see the heat of his every breath in the air. He could see the stars, and the flecks of light each colony gave off. He could see bare branches billowing in the distance. An occasional car zoomed by. There were people. Some old, some young, some alone, and some with arms wrapped around one another. Some kissing. They must have been warm. Heero wished he could be warm. He had been cold since the day he was born.

Speaking of cold, a snowball nicked his ear clear out of nowhere in front of a closed shop. He thought to pull out his gun, though he didn't carry one with him on his way out. It was the first time in his life he had ever left his gun behind, so he did the next best thing.

He tossed a snowball back at who he assumed to be the culprit, Duo Maxwell.

"Your aim is off," said Heero, having gotten Duo right in the forearm.

"Clearly not, pal. Got your attention, didn't I?"

Heero had nothing to say to that. Instead he took note of the black truck Duo was leaning against and his Preventer uniform. There was nothing Heero had left to do rather than to wallow out in the cold, or concede.

"Instead of freezing your butt off like some kind of idiot, why not hop in? We could head up to base and get some hot chocolate. Sound good?"

"Very well," Heero conceded.

END


End file.
